I'm Learning to Fry!

Don’t worry, I know most people agree that chili MUST have meat in it, but I don’t. It is easy to just fry up some hamburger and mix it in. However, a side note: I have had stubborn meat chili eaters enjoy this particular dish.

A lot of the measurements are done “to taste”. Some items that can be adjusted are garlic, chili powder, seasonings, and type and amount of chilies. Also, add enough corn to “make it pretty”. To prepare to make this dish, make sure everything you need is chopped up, cans are open and drained and ready to be put into the pot so they are ready as the correct time approaches.

Remember, this is meant to be colorful, be mindful when picking out ingredients! Oh, yeah, no green bell peppers, the flavor gets too dominating and they are not as sweet as the other colors.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or more to your liking)
• 2 finely diced chili peppers, (any type, I use jalapeños, add more to your liking)
• 3 chopped bell peppers (one each of red, yellow, orange for color)
• chili powder, as much as you want, I use a teaspoon or so, but then again I can’t handle much heat.
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon basil
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cup vegetable broth (or chicken)
• 1 cup salsa of your choice (chunkier the better)
• 3 can kidney beans (one each of light, white and dark for color!)
• 1 1⁄2 cup corn

Optional- 2 cups or so of cooked ground beef.

Garnish- shredded cheese, chopped tomato, green onion and/or sour cream

Directions:

Use a very large pot and heat olive oil. Pan should sizzle violently when ingredients are place in it. Add the onion, garlic, and chili peppers, and sauté 2min, just until the onions become soft, don’t brown them; also be careful not to burn the garlic! Stir!

Then, add bell peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the cumin, basil and chili powder and sauté another 2 minutes until peppers are soft.
Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, and salsa. Simmer this for 10-15min until slightly thickened. Add the corn (and meat if desired), fold in the kidney beans gently and simmer 10 minutes or so until hot.